"If you can make people not lonely, everything is worth it" Interview with Christo Illustration Forest: The greatest power in the world is gentle companionship

Crystal Christo, an artist with 270,000 followers on Facebook, collaborated with women fans ten years ago to create the packaging design of "Little Red Box", and along the way, her forest has become more and more dense, and she is firmly on the road of illustration.

Once again, the meeting surprised us, with healing paintings transformed into small and cute puzzles that were displayed on the table.

Speaking of the fundraising puzzle on Pinkoi, Crystal was very excited, not only in less than 12 hours of opening the fundraising to reach the target, but also exceeded 250% in the first three days;

At the moment when the article was written, the number of participants exceeded 700 and the amount of funds raised exceeded 1.3 million, which shows the super popularity of Christo's illustration forest in the hearts of fans.

"People will say that unicorns don't exist, but I believe it exists—it's invisible to the naked eye, but it's really in everyone's heart."

Introducing the latest painting series "Four Seasons" and the elements in it, Crystal's eyes sparkle, reminiscent of the elves in fairy tales, and the lively and kind personality, as if they are good sisters who have known each other for a long time in life.

She said that she was usually a bit lazy and casual, but in the face of artistic creation, she seemed to have changed as a person, no matter how small the details were, the requirements for herself were very high.

Indeed, Crystal's dedication to art can be seen in paintings where many ingenuities are buried, or in puzzles that have been modified countless times to be finalized.

However, she has also felt lost in the process of "pursuing perfection", and even unconsciously catered to the world's preferences and wanted to live as people liked.

It wasn't until the low tide of creation two years ago that she realized her life barrier and found a connection between herself and the world after a runaway.

Hualien stepped out of the comfort zone and tried to get out of the trough of creation

Crystal says that although he is an inspiration-driven person, he is still stumbling on the road of creating alone, "Maybe the day before he felt that he had painted a masterpiece, but the next day he got up and felt so ugly that he doubted whether he could do it or not, and he wanted to destroy all the paintings that he was not satisfied with."

Those days of struggling alone are like a process of trial and error over and over again when trying to figure it out. Faced with a painting that is half stuck in her hand, she is accustomed to "ignoring what she originally wanted to paint, but trying to make the work in front of her become what she likes."

However, there are times when this method does not work at all.

Two years ago, she encountered a decade of creative lows, unable to do anything, feeling that the work was not perfect, and tired of everything. Historical, which has always been cautious and conservative, decided to change the environment and break away from the familiar urban routine.

"Staying in the village is something I've always wanted to try, but I used to be afraid to step out and want to go to a farther place, but I didn't know where to go or what to do."

Although after deciding to stay in the village, her heart was still at war all the time, but as long as she thought of her original intention of deciding to go far, she still chose to let go of her anxiety about fear of failure and comforted herself: "Anyway, if you really can't stay, it's a big deal to buy a train ticket to go home!" 」

After coming to Hualien New Town alone, she became the resident store manager of the "Etude Bookstore" to work instead of the store, accompanied the children of the Xincheng Elementary School baseball team to write homework and eat dinner, and gradually let her get out of the fog of the low tide.

The greatest power in the world is gentle companionship

Hualien New Town is located in a remote village, and some children grow up in intergenerational parenting families, while others are parents who often return late from work and have no one to take care of their children after school.

In order to take care of these children, Hu Wenwei, the founder of the "Etude Bookstore", cooks food for the children out of their own pockets, cooks rice for the children every day, and recruits short-term resident store managers to communicate with the children and broaden their horizons. This small bookstore is a safe haven for children after school.

"These people who come to the bookstore to help, they are obviously very busy, why are they still willing to do this?" I saw from them and the children that the greatest power in the world was gentle companionship."

Stepping out of his own small world, Crystal saw a different landscape in a group of ordinary people.

A group of lively baseball team brothers sometimes shoot paper airplanes in her drawing class, run around the field, and sometimes compete with each other for the attention of three or four resident store managers, begging adults to accompany them to write math problems that they can write.

"I was amazed! It turned out that I was just sitting there, and it was very warm to the children, and it was a great comfort." Crystal's expression, as if discovering the world's largest treasure.

In the past, she was a little afraid of children, and she did not expect that one day she would be healed by children, "At first I thought that I would go to eat with them, write homework, and play together, but later I felt that the children were accompanying me!" 」

The longing in the hearts of the children made Crystal realize how happy he was growing up, especially the careful companionship of his family — and this happiness is not taken for granted by many people.

Image| Christo illustrating forest "Lights"

【Crystal Village Whisper】

"Light a lamp and let the heart go home."

At night, when the bookstore closes, a special lamp will be left to illuminate the deep night, so that people know that where you are, where your home is.

Every encounter along the way is also like a bright lamp in the night, illuminating each other's smiles, illuminating a home, and illuminating this thousand world.

If it can make people not lonely, everything is worth it

In recent years, Crystal's creative theme has changed from an imaginary fairy tale to a careful observation of the real world, which concretely reflects the feelings she received when she was stationed in Hualien village and looked at the mountains and the sea alone

"Whether there is anyone or not today, nature has always been there, and it is the eternal companionship of all things in the world."

Crystal, who was stuck in the bottleneck of creation in the past, is like a small fish who is clearly in the sea, but has lost its way, confused about its position in the world;

It's also like a person who is clearly holding a piece of a puzzle, but is anxious about the gap in the puzzle, and does not believe that he has the ability to make himself complete.

"I know that I have been constantly looking for something, and recently I have figured out that what I want to find is not just a career, but a career in life." 」

In this cause, the most important thing is companionship; For Crystal now, if his work can make people not feel lonely, everything is worth it.

Accompany yourself with a "puzzle solving" mentality and explore the meaning of life

Having known each other for more than ten years, Crystal feels that women's fascination symbolizes that every woman can be very gentle and strong, even if she sees her own vulnerability, she can break through the framework and be brave enough to be herself.

At the same time, women's fans represent multiple views, and whenever social issues occur, they can always see various views different from the mainstream wind direction on women's fans, providing different aspects that everyone can think about.

Women are fascinated by her, and they are also like good girlfriends who grew up together.

"It's amazing that whenever I encounter any difficulties in my life, when I slip the community, I will just jump out of the article of women's fans, super 'synchronicity'! 」 Reading these articles also seems to let me find the answer to the question." Crystal repeated several times, but I still felt incredible in my heart.

When she is lonely, she has a woman's crush, and Crystal also says that she likes to use puzzles to accompany herself.

"Puzzles are also a kind of healing, just like the popular coloring paintings of previous years, which empty the head; It's as if you've completely forgotten yourself at the moment, but at the same time you have all the feelings of yourself!"

Whether it is drawing or puzzles, it can make people put aside their inextricable thoughts, help people enter a calm state of concentration and selflessness, and it is also an important moment for Crystal to talk to himself.

"A lot of times, we're desperately trying to please the world, but we don't take the time to take care of ourselves and talk to ourselves. I hope that whether it is the present moment of the puzzle or the companionship of the future, these works can become the medium for everyone to heal themselves."

In Crystal's sharing, we realized how magical the process of "solving puzzles" is.

The fun part of puzzles is to enjoy the unknown and find answers; The fascinating thing about Crystal's work is that through the reading of different elements, the meaning of the whole painting is gradually combined;

The reason why people's lives can be brilliant also comes from the exploration of each life stage, and finally find out the meaning of their existence in the world.

I hope that everyone who likes puzzles, immerses yourself in Crystal paintings, or has the courage to explore the meaning of life, will be able to find your connection to the world, let these paintings become silent companionship, and also piece together life into your favorite way.

Postscript: Truly believe that the self at this moment is complete enough

In addition to the "Four Seasons" series mentioned at the beginning of the article, there are three other works, namely "Sunshine Just Right", "Moonlight Sea" and "Companion" of the wooden puzzle.

Among them, "The Sunshine is Just Right" records the moment when Hualien was stationed in the village, she glimpsed it in the seaside jungle, while "Moonlight Sea" is a past creation, with a cute IP like Little Red Riding Hood and a popular "Rosie Rosie";

A recent year, an early one, a realistic, a childlike, a day, a night, the two paintings together to form an interesting contrast.

Image| Christo illustrating forest "The Sun is Just Right"

Image| Christo illustration forest "Moonlight Sea"

"The coolest thing is that these two paintings were voted for!" Crystal's face is full of excitement, and there is an indescribable tacit understanding between her and her fans.

She also revealed that she likes special moments and scenes, such as the colorful sunset at sunset and the stunning moonlight sea.

"Although the sea of moonlight appears at night, it illuminates the whole night, just as it does during the day; Rosie represents everyone who looks at this landscape."

Hearing these words, our hearts are touched, as if we are sucked into the works and become the little girl in the picture, we can hear the whisper of the waves, enjoy the silence of the night, and revel in a whole sparkling sea.

Good works come from people who are full of love, crystal paintings give people a sense of harmony, very gentle but full of power, so that people can accept themselves when facing their hearts, and truly believe that they are complete enough at this moment.